Cats and Dogs and Wizards Oh My!
by dyindraconi
Summary: When Harry Potter returns from his fifth year, he expects to spend the summer alone in his room with only his memories. What he does not expect is for a family history to rise up from its fivehundred year sleep to bite him in the ass. Fortuneatly for him
1. Chapter 1

AN: Woohoo! First story. Please be nice to me.

Disclaimers: Yes. I own all of this. All of it. All your base now belong to us. Really…IF you have to ask, then you need help. Because it is painfully obvious that this is FANFICTION! If I owned this, I would be publishing it and making oodles of money.

A tall figure stood watching the quiet suburb from the shadows. His eyes were fixed intently on one house in particular- a house no different from its neighbors, a house no different in any way from all the other cookie-cut copies that surrounded it. The hot summer day was drawing to a close, giving way to a hot summer evening with not even a breeze to give relief from the oppressive heat.

He turned to the slight figure that was standing next to him. "Are you sure this the right place?"

The companion nodded. "I think I can recognize a seal that I created. It may have been five-hundred years ago but that is still my power I am sensing."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist. I was just checking. Can you imagine the scene if you were wrong? How exactly would we explain that one to my brother?"

"Knickers? You really have submerged yourself in this culture haven't you?"

"Well you know what they say. When in Rome…"

"Should I be at all worried that you have picked up such a human saying?"

"That's up to you. Let's get back to the house before the guards start to notice their house is being cased."

"Great, now its thieves cant. What is the world coming to? It's bad enough you are trying to pick up the accent."

Still bickering the two figures turned and made their way back to their car. The setting sun caught the taller person's eyes with a sudden dying flare. And for that instant his eyes glowed a deep, unholy gold.

Inside the absolutely normal house that was being 'cased', a decidedly abnormal boy was staring out his window where he could have sworn he had seen a gleam of gold. He watched for a minute but decided he must have been mistaken. That or his guards were getting even more clumsy. With a sigh, he flopped back onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling seemed to be the only thing he did these days.

Harry Potter was bored. He was also depressed, pissed off and more then slightly sick. It was now two weeks into summer break and it seemed to be playing out as a repeat of the last year. Not that Harry really wanted to get letters offering condolences and platitudes about his godfather but anything was better then staring at his ceiling by day and the mad escapades of Voldemort by night. I mean, with a snake? That had just been nasty. Harry was only thankful that he no longer saw these attacks from the eyes of the Great Evil himself but was now an impartial observer. It was these nightly meetings that left Harry feeling ill and unclean, wanting nothing more then to scrub his mind out with the strongest bleach.

Over the past two weeks, Harry had come to terms with the prophesy Dumbledore had imparted to him at the end of the year. He was still pissed that Dumbledore hadn't told him years before and was pissed that the Headmaster felt the night of Sirius' death was the proper time to inform him with the details of his 'fate'. However, he was more pissed off at himself for not feeling more pissed off about Dumbledore's actions.

'I,' Harry decided, starting at the one crack on the ceiling, 'Am far too understanding. That's my problem. Once I have time to think things over I see the other side and that keeps me from staying pissed off. Damn. This means I'll have to apologize to Dumbledore.' Harry sighed gustily. That was going to be an awkward conversation.

For all Harry's maturity on the matter of the Headmaster's duplicity, he still had some remarkable blind spots that he refused to even consider. Snape. Just thinking about the Potions Master made Harry's blood boil and a red-ish haze tint his vision. 'That bastard accused me of acting like a child when he's the one who won't let go of a grudge from twenty years ago.'

Harry, despite his unwillingness to compromise in certain areas, had done some remarkable growing up during the summer. He had realized that Sirius would be angry if he moped around all summer and let himself rot away in a puddle of angsty depression. He had also realized that prophesy or no prophesy he still would have gone after Voldemort and his DeathEaters. Revenge is a strong motivator. The prophesy just gave him an extra excuse. A reason to give to the press when he ripped Voldemort's head from his shoulders. He had made a list of those DeathEaters he personally wanted and the ways he would carry out their deaths. Looking over this list, made after a particularly bad night, Harry decided he would not show it to anyone. This was a side of him he hated and he was sure that it would only give credibility to the rumors that Harry Potter was evil and well on his way to becoming the next Dark Lord.

The idea of killing Voldemort and his DeathEaters no longer was so repulsive. The nightly visits destroyed any and all pity he had for them and easily justified the death that would be coming their way. And again, revenge was a strong motivator.

Harry's aunt and uncle had left him alone for the most part. They only demanded a few chores a day. The threat from Moody and the other Order members seemed to make an impression in his uncle's small mind. Aunt Patunia was too preoccupied with the messy divorce that was playing out across the street to pay attention to her unwanted nephew. Only Dudley seemed to remember the other boy in the house and after the Dementor incident he was more then willing to leave his cousin alone.

Night slowly fell over Privet Drive. Harry's stomach was a knot of unease as once again he prepared himself for another night in hell. He had tried everything to block out the images but it seemed that the possession from last year had opened yet another connection between the Dark Lord and the Boy-Who-Lived. Instead of clearing his mind, Harry concentrated instead on pushing his emotions into the background. The more emotional he was during the meetings, the more he remembered and the more he felt.

As Harry attempted to sleep, a group of three sat around a table in a small hotel room trying to come up with a way to tell their target he had a big surprise coming to him on his birthday.

"Look, we can't just walk up to him and tell him 'Hey! Your great times ten grandfather was not exactly human and on your birthday you are going to get some of those powers.'" This was the slight figure that had been watching Number 4 Privet Drive that evening.

"Why not?" The tall companion now spoke up. "It seems to be the best option."

"He'll think we're crazy, won't believe us, and if we're lucky he'll just call the police and not the mental hospital. Who in their right minds would believe that there is another world hiding in plain view from this one?"

"I still think…"

"And that is why you are an idiot and won't ever stop being an idiot."

"Bastard! Do you want to say that again?"

"You are an idiot…"

"Boys! Don't make me seal both of you to a tree again!"

Under the fierce glare of the priestess the two brothers settled down. Kagome Higarashi resisted the urge to bang her head on the table. Five-hundred years and the two siblings were still at each other's throats.

"We're going to have to tell him soon. It will be easier to break the seal before his birthday. That way I can break it gradually. It won't cause him as much pain. Otherwise he'll be getting everything at once."

"Do we know what kind of blood he should be expecting?" Sesshoumaru hadn't changed much in five-hundred years. His hair was shorter to fit the styles of the day, his kimono had been exchanged for an expensive Italian suit but his regal bearing was the same. As was the cold arrogance in his eyes.

"No," Kagome rubbed her face with her hands. "I have no idea what kind of demon his great-whatever times-grandfather was. There really wasn't much to go on back then. It never occurred to me to ask."

"Oh great! So we're going into this blind!" Inu-Yasha's ability to open mouth and insert foot hadn't diminished either. He just tended to hide it better.

Kagome glared at him. "Well excuse _me_ mister! It wasn't exactly pressing information to know at the time. I never expected to live to see his 'fated' descendent much less be the one to find him!"

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. Five-hundred years and they still fought like a newly mated pair. "Stop it you two. I have no desire to watch your bonding behavior. Try to get his trust when you move in. Try to find out his birthday and we'll go from there." With these parting words the Lord of the Western Lands made his exit from the hotel room, leaving his brother and his brother's mate to much more engaging activities.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry awakened to the sound of a moving truck puttering away across the street. Number Nine Privet Drive had been for sale ever since the messy divorce had left the husband having to sell everything to satisfy the demands of his wife. Harry rubbed his eyes as he glanced out the window. His glasses were getting too weak; he was constantly getting head-aches when he wore them. Next time he went to Diagon Alley he was going to have to get a better prescription. A small moving truck was idling on the street as a black haired couple emptied out the back. They seemed to be bickering as they lifted the boxes and moved them onto the lawn.

Harry rolled his eyes. Everywhere he went he was met with bickering couples. He hoped that Ron and Hermione had giving into the inevitable and had just started dating one another. Harry was getting heartily sick of the sexual tension between the two of them. Harry glanced around his room, looking for some sort of clothing to wear. It was then he noticed just what a pit his room was. Clothes were spread everywhere, Hedwig's cage was a mess, there were dead mice on the floor, the contents of his truck erupted from the wooden container like water from a broken sprinkler. Taking several minutes, Harry attempted to straighten up the mess. Clothes went in a pile, his truck was repacked-sort of- Hedwig's cage and the mice were emptied out the window. Smiling in a satisfied way, Harry made his way downstairs to help with breakfast and whatever chores his aunt had for him.

Breakfast was quiet for a change. Aunt Patunia was too busy watching the moving van to pay attention to Dudley shoveling down the bacon that was still a prohibited food. Uncle Vernon had his nose buried in a drill deal that was expected to go through that day. Harry choked down what food he could and escaped out the back door before his aunt could assign any duties for the day.

As he made his way to the front, intending to walk to the park and spend the day on the swings, Harry could hear the bickering that came from the moving couple. It wasn't in any language he had ever heard before. Intrigued, Harry crossed the street and walked casually down the sidewalk toward Number Nine. He quickly searched through his memory for any mention of DeathEaters moving to Privet Drive or of any foreign recruits. Finding no such evidence, Harry concluded it was safe to talk to the newcomers.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha knew they needed to attract the attention of their target. They knew they needed to somehow get him to come over so they could gain his trust. However, the argument that broke out over moving the boxes was completely unplanned. As was the habit of the two mates, a simple task soon became an opportunity to degrade the other in every possible way. So when a soft voice interrupted their rather heated…discussion… over the placement of the living room, they were surprised.

Harry watched in amusement as the woman tried to wrestle a box out of her husband's arms. "Do you need any help?" He inquired, more looking for a relief from boredom then from a desire to be helpful.

Kagome jerked around, leaving Inu-Yasha to fall back on his rear as her grip on the box disappeared. She stared for a minute in bemusement at the smallish boy who stood in front of her. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of some rather baggy pants. His shirt was equally baggy and a rather undetermined gray in color. His mop of black hair flopped in front of his face; his startling green eyes were hidden behind a pair of much repaired glasses. She could just glimpse the edge of a long scar on his forehead. What surprised her the most was the aura of power that seemed to surround the boy. Kagome was used to dealing with powerful demons and people, she was even more used to the lack of power that surrounded most humans. When she identified her seal the week before, she had not been close enough to see what the bearer looked like or what kind of power he had naturally. It seemed that the boy who caused them so much trouble was not quite as normal as they had assumed. Maybe explaining the idea of demons wouldn't be so impossible.

Inu-Yasha grumbled profanely from where he had landed on the cement. Putting the box to one side, he managed to stand up and look at the person who had startled him and Kagome. Like his mate he saw the scrawny, small teen. But unlike his mate he saw not the power, but the strength. For an instant Inu-Yasha was reminded of himself as he looked into those green eyes. They were the eyes of a survivor, of someone far too old for the body they inhabited. He could faintly smell the scent of his mate's power and even more faintly the taste of some sort of demonic youkai.

For his part, Harry was intrigued by these new neighbors. They both looked Asian. The woman was fairly short; her long black hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. Her slate blue eyes were kind and promised an understanding listener. The man was tall. His black hair was chopped off at his ears. It was messy without being like a bird nest. Harry was startled to see he had violet eyes. He was even more startled to see how old and pained those eyes looked. They looked like Harry felt-too old and tired to go on. But they lightened as they looked over to the woman. From the woman he felt a power similar to that of wizard's, from the man he got a sense of power but of a much different type.

Harry smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering if you needed any help moving in. I live over in Number Four," he pointed over his shoulder at his aunt and uncle's. "I saw you moving in and decided to see if you needed any assistance."

Kagome smiled at the boy. "Oh don't worry about it. You just startled us."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "You startled her. If you want to help, we could use a hand." He jerked his head at he large pile of boxes still needing to be unloaded.

Harry smiled. "Sure, nothing better to do. My name's Harry Potter by the way."

Inu-Yasha handed the box he and Kagome had been struggling with to the boy. "I'm Inu-Yasha and that's my wife Kagome."

"Nice to meet both of you. Where would you like this box?"

"In the living room."

Over the course of the unpacking, Inu-Yasha and Kagome learned a little about the boy whose world they would soon be turning upside down.

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm going to be a Sixth year at my boarding school."

"That makes you, what sixteen?"

"In two weeks, July 31st."

"You're fifteen! You look twelve."

"Inu-Yasha! Be nice!"

Inu-Yasha ducked as his mate threw a wooden spoon at his head.

"Sorry, he tends to be an idiot."

"No, it's all right. I do look really young for my age."

"So you live with your aunt and uncle?"

"Yeah."

"What's your favorite subject?" Kagome could easily see that his living arrangements were a sore point and turned the subject to something more neutral.

"I don't know. I really hate chemistry. The teacher is a greasy git. But the others are ok I guess."

Yet another guarded answer and a change in subject.

"So where are you both from?"

"Japan, the Tokyo area. My family owns a shrine there, but we wanted to see the world before we took it over. Inu-Yasha's brother offered him a place here and we took it."

"I wish I had a sibling."

"No, you don't. Brothers are a pain in the ass."

"They don't get along very well." Kagome explained in a whisper as Inu-Yasha ranted to the heavens about the evils of older brothers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was almost dinnertime when the truck was finally empty. The three workers sat exhausted on the front step. Inu-Yasha was stretched out on his back.

"Who knew boxes could be so heavy?" he groused. He, being the strongest, had been forced to carry all the really large and heavy containers into the house. Kagome and Harry grinned at each other. They really could have helped but it was so much fun to watch him whine.

Looking at his watch, Harry jumped up in shock. "I have to get back! It was nice meeting you!" With a wave he took off down the street.

"Hey! Harry! Can you come back tomorrow? We could use some help unpacking and painting!" Inu-Yasha yelled after the teenager.

Harry waved in reply before turning onto Number Four's walkway and disappearing inside.

Inu-Yasha and Kagome looked at each other. "Well, that went well. Now I just hope that he takes the other news as easily as he took meeting us."

"We can only hope. We have two weeks till his birthday."

"What are you planning to do? Have him help renovate the whole house?"

"Exactly. We'll start painting tomorrow. And then we'll unpack, and then we'll spend what ever time is left rearranging the furniture."

"Rearranging the furniture? And how long will that work before he gets suspicious?"

"If that doesn't work we'll call in your brother, tie Harry up in the basement, and explain everything."

"Why didn't we do that in the first place?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Not particularly."

"I didn't think so."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the next two weeks, Harry spent all day helping Inu-Yasha and Kagome move into their new house. After moving in, Kagome wrangled Harry into helping paint the whole house, unpack, and then paint the outside. Inu-Yasha griped the entire time, asking why, if she was going to redo the whole house, had they bought it in the first place? Kagome had just looked at him and he had shut up. Harry found he enjoyed being in the company of the strange couple. Inu-Yasha, for some reason, reminded him of Sirius, not his attitude but something in his aura. And Kagome was a calm comforting presence that helped sooth his pain just by being around her. His nightly visions were weaker when he worked himself to exhaustion during the day, and having something to do kept him from brooding. Over the course of the two weeks, he found out about Inu-Yasha's troubled childhood, growing up as a social outcast, hated by all members of his family. And how everything had changed once he had met Kagome. They, in turn, learned about the murder of Harry's parents, his hate for his relatives, and the recent death of his godfather.

On the evening of the 30th, the three workers stood looking at Number Nine Privet Drive with pride. A fresh coat of white paint glinted cleanly in the falling light, the clean windows gleamed, bright flowers bloomed happily in the pots on the front steps.

Inu-Yasha shook everyone's hand in a professional manner. "Great working with you, congratulations everyone. The house project is now finished."

Harry smiled. Inu-Yasha reminded him sometimes of the Twins. "Well, I have to get back. Thanks for letting me help out on this."

Inu-Yasha and Kagome exchanged a glance. It was Kagome who spoke up. "Hey, Harry how would you like to join us for dinner? You deserve some reward for helping us out and we haven't yet had a proper house warming. That's terrible luck. The house gods will think we don't properly respect them."

Harry wavered. He would love to eat in a place where every bite wasn't a lump of cement. "I don't know… Aunt Patunia will be expecting me home and I really don't want to intrude…"

Kagome gave Harry a blinding smile. "You won't intrude! We really like having you around. Besides, the house gods will want to meet you as well."

Harry still wavered. He really wanted to stay but he got enough grief from his aunt and uncle for spending all day at the new neighbors. He didn't want to risk their anger for staying for dinner.

Inu-Yasha, seeing Harry's hesitation, spoke up in a rare moment of perception. "How about I go back with you and ask? That way they won't think you invited yourself over. It will also make it harder for them to refuse."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Inu-Yasha was already making his way down the street towards Number Four. Harry had to run to catch up with the older man's long strides. By the time they had made the two-minute walk, Harry's stomach was a bundle of nervous anticipation. He knew his uncle would not react well to someone taking an interest in him. He only hoped he didn't get locked in his room again. Although, with the threat of the Order, he should be able to keep his uncle at bay. Still, he hung back as Inu-Yasha rang the doorbell.

"What do you want?" snapped the large purple face of Uncle Vernon. His eyes skipped from Inu-Yasha to Harry who was looking distinctly cowed. "Boy!" he shouted as his eyes landed on Harry. "Where have you been all day? You are supposed to help your aunt around the house and you just run off? Is this the gratitude we get for putting up with you for all these years? Ungrateful wretch!" His tone became distinctly oily and apologetic as he turned his attention to the stunned Inu-Yasha. "I'm so sorry about my nephew. He's not quite right in the head you know. We do try to keep him in the house but he has no respect for authority. I'm so terribly sorry he was bothering you."

Inu-Yasha looked as if he had been hit on the back of his head with a large board. He was looking from Harry's downcast and rather amused face-he was remembering a similar rant from Professor Snape in his third year- to Uncle Vernon's purple and red face glaring at Harry.

"I think you've misunderstood, sir. I live over at Number Nine and Harry here has been helping us move in all week. I came to ask if he could join us for dinner to christen the new house and greet the house gods."

Uncle Vernon's face was a study during Inu-Yasha's explanation. His face paled rapidly at the mention of 'house gods'

"You're not one of those freak are you?" His voice was soft and his eyes were darting around in a paranoid fashion, as if waiting for a brigade of cloaked wizards to jump out and spoil the normalcy of the evening.

Inu-Yasha's face went stony at the mention of freaks. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Uncle Vernon's face paled even more as he realized his mistake. "I….It's tho…those freaks he goes to school with! Criminals all of them! Freaks!"

Inu-Yasha turned to Harry who was struggling to hide a smile-his sense of the ridiculous was getting the better of him. "I go to a school for people with…gifts. My uncle doesn't exactly appreciate them. We are a bit…eccentric in some ways."

"I see." The dog-demon turned his gaze back on the human in front of him. His gaze was puzzled as if he were looking at some sort of deformed bug rather then a person. "So would it be alright if Harry joined us for the evening?" His voice was low and polite.

Uncle Vernon took the only way out he could. "Take the boy! But don't blame me when those freaks come looking for him." With that, he turned back into the house and slammed the door.

Harry gave Inu-Yasha an apologetic smile. "Sorry, my uncle's a bit off his rocker. He acts like that sometimes."

Inu-Yasha was still looking at the door with a confused, disgusted expression on his face. Shaking his head, he turned to leave. "Well at least that's over with. Let's go."

Harry shrugged and started off back towards Number Nine. Inu-Yasha's thoughts were back traveling the well-worn paths of his childhood. He could remember all too well the calls of freak and brat that followed him most of his life. He just hoped Harry didn't believe what his relatives said to him because the evening's revelations were going to do nothing but further convince the poor boy that he really was an abnormal freak.


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner that evening was traditional Japanese fare. Harry had never tasted most of what was eaten but decided he loved it. The conversation at dinner was lighthearted. Inu-Yasha told the story of how he first met Kagome and mistook her for his ex-girlfriend. Harry could sense there was more of the story to tell but didn't pry. He could also feel the tension in the air all throughout the evening. He just hoped it had nothing to do with him.

After the meal, Harry helped Kagome clean up as Inu-Yasha made smart-ass comments from his seat on the counter. Pulling a cake out of the fridge, Kagome lead the way into the living room. With great pomp and circumstance she christened the house and left a small slice of the cake and a saucer of _sake_ in all four corners of the room. This finished, she bowed to the fireplace and recited a brief sutra of good luck.

Smiling, she turned back to Harry who was sitting on the couch with a confused look on his face.

"What exactly was all that?" he asked puzzled. "Inu-Yasha mentioned something about welcoming the house gods but I thought he was just talking."

Inu-Yasha coughed in an embarrassed manner. "You see Harry, me and Kagome are a mix of Bhuddist and Shinto. Basically that means that we honor the gods that are in all living things. Because a house becomes a living thing, it is terribly bad manners not to introduce yourself to the spirits that are already here."

"Spirits?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He had thought that the Japanese couple was far too modern to believe in anything so archaic and occult.

Kagome smiled softly from her seat in the large armchair. "Spirits among other things. Shinto also believes in demons and ogres and all sorts of not so friendly manifestations."

"Not so friendly manifestations my ass." Inu-Yasha spoke up from where he was slouched on the floor. "Remember Yura of the Hair? Down right evil manifestation she was."

"Yura of the Hair?" Harry inquired looking from one to the other. Kagome was glaring at Inu-Yasha in a frustrated manner while her husband just gazed innocently back at her.

"Err.." Kagome started out looking for Inu-Yasha to help out. "Yura was a demon…"

"A demon?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah," Kagome continued. "A demon who was the manifestation of the ill will of a woman who used a comb to brush the hair of dead people."

"Brush the hair of dead people? That's disgusting." Harry managed to gasp out, picturing in his mind a fat toad like woman yanking a bright pink comb through the little hair left on an old man's corpse.

"You have no idea." Inu-Yasha mumbled from the floor.

"How did you guys hear that story?" Harry asked intrigued about hearing some new interesting 'fairy tales'.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha threw half-pained glances at one another. This was the best opening they had gotten all evening.

"Well, Harry let me ask you if you believe there could be another world coexisting with this one?"

"Another world?" Harry was getting an odd sense of déjà vu. Except sitting in the place of Hagrid was Inu-Yasha and Kagome. "Yeah, I could believe that," he answered warily, thinking of the world of Wizards he inhabited.

Kagome chewed on her lip for a moment. "And if all those creatures I mention existed in that world?"

"You mean demons, monsters, and the like."

Kagome nodded sheepishly.

"Well, it seems more likely then a world filled with bunnies and fluffy cute animals with sunshine and rainbows."

Inu-Yasha nodded from the floor. "I thought you might say that. You don't exactly have a very cheerful outlook on life."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You try living with the Dursley's for sixteen years. See what kind of outlook you end up with." He muttered darkly.

Inu-Yasha laughed shortly. "I didn't have the Dursley's but I had my crackpot family. They were bad enough."

"So what does this have to do with another world and with the weird tension I've felt in the air all evening?" Harry asked looking from one to the other.

Inu-Yasha ran his hand over his face. "Shit, this is hard." Harry felt his stomach sink. He had a really bad feeling about this.

"Harry what we're trying to tell you is that there is another world coexisting peacefully along side this one." Kagome took up the narrative now.

Harry's premonition of doom continued to deepen.

"And well, we're part of that world and…"

"And?" Harry questioned feeling he knew where this was going.

"And soareyou." Kagome burst out all at once.

Harry stared at Kagome for a minute. She was staring at her hands as she wrung them together. Her face was pained and regretful.

"It's just that you see, I've had this bad feeling for the past several weeks and then we come here and we find you and the seal on your power is about to break and I knew that it would break on your birthday and I really didn't want it to break without someone there because it will be really painful and I'm really really sorry. I don't want this to happen to anyone but you are really going to need those powers otherwise there's a really good chance that you'll die and I really don't want that to happen because I really like you and no one deserves to die this young and…and…"

Kagome was going a mile a minute, surpassing even Hermione for the fastest speed talker. She had also just broken the record for the number of 'really's used in one breath. She was wringing her hands faster and faster, her face was getting more and more distressed. It looked like she was about to cry.

"Wait, wait." Harry held up a hand to stem the flow of words. "I am a WHAT?" unconsciously echoing his statement of five years before.

"Harry, you're a demon." It was Inu-Yasha who answered the desperate question. He was looking at the boy with sympathy in his violet eyes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're joking right?" Harry's voice was pleading. It was the only sound in the house.

"I wish I was." Kagome's voice was equally soft. It sounded pained, as if what she had just revealed hurt her as much as it hurt him.

"How can you be sure?"

"I set that seal down. Five hundred years later it is still my power. No other person, demon, or priestess has that power signature. I'm sure."

Harry started at the couple in shock, his hands slack in his lap with shock. Kagome was still staring at her hands. Inu-Yasha had moved to sit on the arm of her chair, his arm around her shoulders.

"How do I know this isn't some huge joke?" Harry asked disbelief clear on his face. "If that world is full of monsters how do they keep from being seen? And five hundred years ago? Nice one you two, but really, what are you getting at?"

Inu-Yasha sighed. "I though you might react that way." He mumbled something under his breath and Harry watched in surprise as the Japanese man he had knew faded. His hair turned white and long, his eyes switched from purple to gold, and two dog-ears appeared on the top of his head. To top it all off, Inu-Yasha now had claws instead if fingernails. Very sharp looking claws. As the demon smiled sheepishly Harry could see two gleaming fangs in the man's mouth.

Fuck. No joke for Harry.

"My life sucks." Harry moaned into his hands. "Isn't it enough that I have an evil wizard after my blood, my godfather dead, and a stupid prophecy hanging over my head? No now I have to find out that I'm a freaking demon as well!"

"Well look at it this way, at least you can make a good book out of this." Kagome suggested in an attempt to console the angsting teenager. The absurdity of the situation seemed to be getting to her.

Harry looked up from his hands and glared at the two people sitting in the armchair. "Explain. Everything. Now."

Inu-Yasha smirked. "Well to start out with, I'm not a full demon and when I said I had issues with my family it was more they had issues with me. See, I'm a half-breed and from my first memories both my human and demon family have been trying to kill me…"

The pair went on to explain about how Inu-Yasha fell in love with a priestess who had a jewel with the ability to turn him human, how he was tricked by an evil demon, and ended up sealed to a tree. Kagome then took up the story and told how she was from this time period, fell down a well into the past of five hundred years ago, unsealed Inu-Yasha and broke the jewel that was hidden inside her body. Together they explained their adventures looking for the jewel shards, Kagome as the reincarnation of Inu-Yasha's dead love, the resurrection of his dead love, meeting his brother, fighting the evil bastard who tricked Inu-Yasha fifty years before, meeting others who had had their lives turned to shit by the evil demon, and eventually coming to the completion of the jewel, defeating the Big Evil, and the meeting with Harry's great-however many times-grandfather.

"By this time I had gained quiet a reputation in Japan. I was a priestess who would willingly help demons-not something that anyone ever saw. So, your whatever times grandfather came to me with a problem. He was in love with a human who did not want to have the life-span of a demon-the result when a human and demon mate. So he asked me to seal his demonic powers away in him- turning him into basically a human. He was a bit of a seer, and knew that one day his descendents might need his power. I, not thinking I would ever have to deal with the aftermath of this decision, helped him and sealed away his power. He and his wife then traveled away from Japan-I think he had really pissed off one of the more powerful demon families- and I guess ended up in Europe."

Harry's mouth had fallen open at some point during the tale and was still open. "Sweet Merlin!" he took some solstice in the fact that someone's life was worse then his. "And I thought my life sucked. But how did you end up here if all that happened five-hundred years ago?"

Kagome blushed as Inu-Yasha smiled proudly at her. "It was Kagome's idea. She used the jewel to wish us all into her era. Even my older brother. Except he was dropped off about a hundred years before us with strict instructions on what to invest in. He is now the richest youkai in the demon world and one of the richest men in the world. He's still pissed off that he didn't put more money in Microsoft. Kagome thought that by the time it came into being he would be savvy enough to buy it. She still teases him about it."

Harry smiled at the thought of the slight priestess teasing the man who sounded like the most powerful demon in the world. "So what kind of demon blood am I going to be getting?" He asked pulling the subject back on course.

Kagome shrugged. "I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea how much of a demon's power you are going to be getting. I've never dealt with a seal like this before. I don't know how intact his powers are."

"Great." Harry deadpanned.

"You seem to be taking this all rather well." Inu-Yasha observed. "I thought that you were going to rant and rail for hours about how it wasn't possible and how you never wanted this and why was life so unfair."

Harry gave a barking parody of a laugh. "I always knew life was unfair. I've gotten used to that. Besides I've already had someone come and turn my life upside down. A bunch of times. More times then I want to remember. Just before school let out the Headmaster went and screwed my life over again. So one more shock isn't going to make me descend into a puddle of babbling goo."

Inu-Yasha smiled. "Good to hear that. Goo isn't fun to clean up after."

Harry joined in the grin.

Kagome looked hopeful as she listened to the conversation. Glancing over at the clock, she blinked in surprise at the time. It was nearly ten-thirty. Harry would have to go back to Number Four soon.

Standing up, she motioned for Harry to do the same. "Now, I'm going to break the seal and it is going to hurt, but it is going to hurt a lot less then if you waited for it to break naturally. This way, we can help you through it."

Harry cocked his head to one side. He looked long and deep into Kagome's eyes. They only showed regret for the pain she was about to cause him and affection. There was no malice or taint of evil.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded.

Kagome also took a deep breath and motioned for Inu-Yasha to stand behind Harry. "To catch you when you fall," she explained.

"That's comforting." Harry quipped.

"It should be," Inu-Yasha replied.

All attention was brought sharply to Kagome as she stared chanting. A bright pink glow sprung up around her. The feeling of power intensified as she brought her hands out in front of her. Only Inu-Yasha behind him kept Harry from backing up as she started moving toward him.

When she placed her hands on his chest, Harry felt an electrical shock run down the length of his body. He started to shiver as she once again started chanting. A sudden pain in his chest region called his attention away from her face, which was awash with power, to her hands. One hand was placed flat on his chest and the other seemed to be pulling something away from his heart. The pain intensified as her hand got further and further away from his body.

Harry was no stranger to pain. Broken arms, re-growing bones, Unforgivables, basilisk fangs, falling off broomsticks, and recently possession, he knew them all, so he didn't scream. But nothing prepared him for this. It was like Kagome was actually pulling part of him out with her hand. His last coherent thought before blacking out was if this is what it felt like when a Dementor kissed you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At first there was darkness and it was good. And then God said let there be light, and there was light but it wasn't as good as the dark. Harry was forced to agree as he opened his eyes. He seemed to be staring at the ceiling and it hurt. In fact, everything hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to blink, it hurt to swallow, it hurt to think and most of all it hurt to move.

"Sorry about that." Kagome's face appeared in the middle of the white that was the ceiling. Her voice, unnaturally quiet, still pounded in Harry's ears as if she has shouted.

Note to self, wincing hurt. For several minutes Harry lay on the floor. It took his head that long to stop spinning wildly every time he blinked. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the pain, Harry propped himself up on his arms. The whole room swam before his eyes, but before he could collapse again, strong arms wrapped around his shoulders.

Turning to look at the shape, Harry noticed that it was blurry, hell the whole room was blurry, and it was making his head hurt more to have to look at it.

"Where are my glasses?" he managed to mumble out. It took several tries before his brain properly connected to his mouth.

A blob, vaguely recognizable as Kagome, moved closer. "You have them on," she said still speaking softly.

It took a while for the information to sink into Harry's brain. Once it did, he frowned. Were his glasses dirty or something? Leaning more of his weight on the person supporting him-it must be Inu-Yasha- Harry reached up and removed his trademark spectacles from his face. He blinked rapidly as the entire room came into sharp and painful focus.

"Blrugh…" He groaned as he once again shut his eyes.

"Sorry." It was Kagome again. "You should get over the disorientation in a few minutes. It was a pretty big piece of yourself that I removed when I took that seal. It was in your body from birth. Just close your eyes and wait for it all to pass."

Harry took her wise advice as the world once again started to pound as he opened his eyes. "What kind of demon am I?" he asked with his eyes firmly closed.

"I don't know," Kagome offered a pensive tone. "We won't really know we take a closer look at you. When you get a little more comfortable we'll take a look. Do you want me to get a mirror so you can see your new additions?"

Kagome's words filled Harry with an odd sense of dread but his curiosity won out and he made an agreeing noise from his throat.

She giggled slightly as she got up from the floor. Inu-Yasha lifted Harry up off the floor and deposited him back on the couch, with several pillows to keep his head up.

"Man, I'm glad my transformations aren't like that," he commented as he sat back down on the floor.

Harry made another noise in his throat.

Inu-Yasha gave a small laugh. "Every new moon my demon power fades and I become human. I'm just lucky I don't have to go through that kind of pain each month."

A patter of footsteps heralded the arrival of Kagome with the mirror. Soft steps made their way to the couch and it dipped as the priestess sat down on the edge.

"I think you can open your eyes now."

Harry complied warily and the first thing he saw was green. Bright glowing green eyes. When he blinked in surprise and the eyes blinked back, he realized he was looking at his own reflection. Taking the mirror from Kagome, who gave a small giggle at the befuddled look on his face, Harry took in his new 'additions' as Kagome put it.

His eyes were even more of a bright green and the pupils seemed to be slits. His nose was slightly darker and twitched as he looked at it. The most striking change he could see was his ears. In place of the normal, round, HUMAN ears he had had for the past sixteen years, were delicately pointed demon ears. Although he didn't know it they looked a lot like Sesshoumaru's, except Harry's were tipped in fur. Silky, black, FUR. The ends even had little tufts, like some kind of bobcat.

Raising a hand to touch the fur in horror, Harry noticed his hands were now tipped in claws.

A smothered laugh caught his attention and he turned away from the mirror to see Kagome hiding her face in a pillow to stop her giggles.

At his baleful glare she stopped trying to hide and just laughed. "I'm sorry, Harry," she managed to get out, "It's just that your eyes…. when they saw your ears…. got so huge. And the look on your face…" once again she dissolved into laugher. Inu-Yasha sent her a quelling look, but his face was amused as well.

"You try waking up and finding that the ears you spent sixteen years with are now pointed and covered in fur. See how you'd like it!" Harry grumbled half-heartedly as he went back to looking at himself in the mirror.

One of the first things he noticed this time was his hair. It was all over the place! And so messy! Not realizing what he was doing, Harry started trying to smooth his hair down. When his bare hands didn't work, he stared licking his hands and trying to use his saliva to help control the bird's nest on the top of his head.

A sixth sense alerted him that he was being watched. Turning away once again from the mirror, Harry saw that Inu-Yasha and Kagome were looking at him as if he just sprouted tentacles.

"What?" he asked uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

Kagome was again trying to hide her mirth. "I guess that answers what kind of demon you are."

Inu-Yasha nodded looking slightly disgusted at the sight he had just witnessed.

"What?" Harry asked again extremely worried by this time.

"Harry, if that action is any indication, you're a cat demon." It was Kagome who answered. Inu-Yasha still looked too disturbed.

"A cat?" Harry cocked his head to one side.

Kagome nodded and looking at Inu-Yasha, broke into another fit of giggles. "Oh this is going to be so much fun!" she giggled gleefully, clapping her hands together. "Inu-Yasha, just keep from chasing him up a tree."

Inu-Yasha turned a withering glare on Kagome. "I think I can restrain myself better then that."

"I should hope so!" Kagome said. "But it would still be so funny."

Harry and Inu-Yasha exchanged looks as Kagome went off into giggle-land once again.

As Harry tried to stand up and then nearly fell over, Kagome regained her composure. Steadying him and sitting him back down on the coach, she sat down beside him and looked him in the eye. Understanding he was tired and had taken in too much information for the night, Kagome skipped the explanation about concealment spells and just gave him some basic information and some words of encouragement.

"You are probably in a bit of shock right now." Kagome said all traces of laugher gone. "By morning, all this will have sunk in. Come back here tomorrow and we'll get you a concealment charm. For now I'll put a concealment spell on you. That will keep your relatives from going through the roof. " Kagome's voice had turned serious, but she tried to sound as understanding as possible. "Remember you are not alone. There are thousands of other demons out there and even more humans who have discovered that they are going to long outlive their family and friends."

Finished, Kagome nodded to Inu-Yasha who helped Harry up from the coach. In truth, he was starting to feel overwhelmed. All he wanted now was to go back to his room and sleep for hours. He knew that he was in slight denial and half thought this was a dream. Sleep seemed to have all the answers. The nervous energy that came from the transformation was nearly gone and Harry wanted to just curl up here in this couch.

He was so intent on his tiredness that he didn't even realize he was back at his aunt and uncle's until Inu-Yasha asked him what room was his. Looking up at the darkened house, Harry pointed to the side window that still showed signs of having bars ripped off it.

"Is your window open?" Inu-Yasha asked gauging the distance with his eyes.

"Yes but what…"

And they were in the air. Holding Harry over one shoulder like a sack of rice, Inu-Yasha grabbed the top of the sill with his other hand. A quick swing and they were inside Harry's room. 'I'm glad I left the window open,' Harry thought abstractedly as he stumbled toward the bed.

"Come back over whenever you wake up. We'll explain concealment spells then." Inu-Yasha reminded Harry. A leap out the window, and he was gone.

Too tired now to sleep, Harry stared, dazed, at the ceiling. Too much had happened that day. Demons, jewels, evil monkeys, foxes, cats, Harry's brain just couldn't take it anymore and sent Harry to sleep out of self preservation.

AN: And chapter 3. So like? No like? Have something that is bugging you about it? Please hit that little button and tell me all about it.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yeah yeah I don't own anything. Thanks for continuing to read. Ummmmm. Let me see, concealment spell and tattoos. Yup.If you have any suggestions please tell me. I like to hear constructivecriticism. Flames not so much. One more chapter after this and Harry goes back to school. I'm leaning towards SLASH, so if anyone really objects please let me know. It just works for the story. Oh and next chapter the wonderful hotness of Sesshoumaru Fluffy-sama makes an appearance. I love Fluffy-sama. Anyway. On to the story!

The explanation about concealment spells was one Harry was really looking forward to. He had, over the course of the night, discovered that being a demon had a lot of advantages. He could smell better, see better, hear better, and best of all his visions of Voldemort were practically blocked. He just got the important details instead of the useless torture images. He now could concentrate on finding out who exactly was attending the meetings instead of being focused on who Voldemort was venting his spleen on.

However, walking around with pointed fur-tufted ears, fangs, claws and glowing green eyes was not something he was looking forward to. Harry had done a lot of soul searching during the wee hours of the morning and had come to the decision that his parents and ancestors would come down and haunt him if he threw away the gift that had been dropped into his lap. He now had a real chance of killing Voldemort and surviving the action. He got the feeling that his parents would probably kick him out of heaven if he showed up dead because he refused the gifts given to him. Besides, this could be the 'power he knows not' that the stupid prophesy had spoken of.

The idea of outliving his friends was a frightening one. For too long he had expected them to outlive_ him_, now, when it looked like he would not only survive the war but also all of them, he had no idea of what to think. Considering Kagome and Inu-Yasha, he realized the future could be a lot of fun if he found the right person to spend it with. Besides, if it all became too much he could always just ask Kagome to reseal the power; she had done it once she should be able to do it again.

When he arrived at Number Nine, Inu-Yasha and Kagome were sitting in the living room. With them was a shriveled old man, who was carving something in what looked to be an earring. Inu-Yasha looked up and smiled as Harry opened the door.

"Harry! Happy Birthday!"

Looking into those golden eyes, Harry now realized why this man felt so like Sirius. The dog-like eagerness in both of them bubbled over into the room, spreading over everything and everyone. He smiled tentatively back at the couple on the couch.

The old man looked up from his work. "So this is the new one? Take down the spell if you please, Lady Kagome."

Kagome bowed her head to the man and turned back to Harry who was standing awkwardly in the doorway to the living room. She motioned for him to come closer.

"I'm going to take off the spell so that Totosai," she jerked her head at the old man "can see what kind of cat demon you are and what kind of concealment you'll need." With a frown of concentration she made a slashing motion in front of Harry. He felt a tingle cross his skin as once again his demon form appeared.

"Lady Kagome?" Totosai was looking at Harry in surprise "Who did you say his ancestor was?" his voice was rough but not low.

"I didn't." she replied raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's been quite a long time since I last saw a cat demon with those markings."

At this Inu-Yasha looked up from where he was studying a piece of paper. "Well old man, are you going to tell us or just sit there and sound mysterious?"

Totosai leveled a glare at the dog-demon. "Respect for your elders would not be misplaced. Do you remember the war against the great cat demons?"

"You mean the time when those idiots tried to resurrect their father, and me and Sesshoumaru had to kick their asses?"

"Yes that. Well his ancestor was one of that family. I remember the scandal well. The youngest son fell in love with a human and disappeared. No one knew what happened to him until now. The family was quite annoyed. They were looking forward to killing both him and his human bride."

Harry was feeling distinctly uncomfortable with the eyes of Totosai on him. They felt far too similar to the eyes of Ollivander.

"Well boy, it seems we have some work to do." Totosai continued completely ignoring his previous statements. "You do know what the concealment spells are, right?"

"Um..no. I just found out that I was a demon a few hours ago." Harry answered completely confused.

Totosai's face went blank and he looked at Harry in confusion. "Who are you again?"

Harry started in surprise. Inu-Yasha just rolled his eyes and whacked Totosai over the head with his fist. That seemed to reconnect the smith's brain and he started talking where he had left off, never missing a beat.

"Concealment spells are what keep us demons from being discovered. With them we look completely human. There are two types of concealment spells. One is the type Lady Kagome put on you last night. They are temporary and can be easily broken by pretty much anyone with the power to do so. The other type is much more permanent and can only be broken and recast by the demon wearing the spell. Inu-Yasha, show the boy yours."

Inu-Yasha complied with a shrug. With a muttered word, the Japanese appearance faded into a demon. Totosai pointed to one of Inu-Yasha's ears, which contained a small earring.

"That is his concealing spell. Basically, it is a spell carved into that earring with the commands Inu-Yasha wants."

Inu-Yasha demonstrated. With one word his eyes went to purple, another word and his hair faded to black, another word and his ears were gone replaced by human ones on the side of his head. Another word and he was completely demon again.

"As you can see, there are a variety of commands on the spell object. One for each feature wanted to be concealed, one to conceal them all and one to release them all. It really depends on the demon in question. Some have commands to block hearing and smell, some to conceal everything but eyes. The options are endless. One thing they all have in common is that the spell is either tattooed on their skin in their own blood, or pierced using a ring carved from some part of their body."

Harry was sure his face showed his disgust at that part. Kagome had to look suddenly out the window to keep her mirth from showing. Harry gaped at Totosai in surprise. "In their own _blood_?"

"Yes, the spell must be written in some part of their body. Inu-Yasha gave a tooth for this earring. It's no big deal- it grew back soon enough. Other demons use claws, spines, scales and even bone. For any spell that is contained in a carving, it must be pierced into the body. The spell must touch the body at all times. However, once concealed it cannot be removed even if you know where it is. If anyone were to touch Inu-Yasha's head looking for his ears they would find nothing. The concealment acts as…a suit of armor with the image wanted painted over it. Demons with no human form have to choose something close to their original form. You and Inu-Yasha are lucky that you have a human image to call forth."

"This spell will conceal anything, right?" Harry asked intently, the rest of the explanation forgotten for a moment. He had ideas of walking around unrecognized flashing through his head. The idea of being unnoticed was wonderful. If he could get rid of that scar he could go anywhere he wanted and never worry about being mobbed for pictures or anything!

"Well no." Harry's heart sunk. "There are somethings that are too powerful for the concealment spell to cover. And for a demon like you who stated out life as a human, any thing on your original human body will be present on the image of the concealment spell. For example, that scar of yours is present in any form you have. There is no way to mark a scar to be concealed. If you get a tattoo come to me and I will add a mark that will allow it to be concealed, same with any other piercing you might get. They may not be seen but they are on your body and there is nothing you can do about that. The concealment spell doesn't change what you look like, it merely hides demonic characteristics that could get you noticed by the wrong people."

Harry sighed angrily. His dream was once more squashed. Thus was his life. Pulling his attention back to the explanation, which would no doubt save his life, he asked: "You explained about the earring but what about the blood?"

Totosai nodded. "Basically, you get a tattoo of your own blood. Instead of having the spell carved into the bone, or tooth or what ever, it is drawn into your skin. The pattern is the same as the carving only in your skin."

Harry nodded, it made a surprising amount of sense. Though he still had more questions. There was no way in hell he was going into this thing without every little kink ironed out. "Why could I not understand what Inu-Yasha was saying?"

Totosai grinned happily. "Good question! The spell is written in the language of your choice. This is another safety method to keep us safe from detection. The more archaic the language is the better. Inu-Yasha used the language of dog-demons. That being said, only once has a concealment spell like this been broken. Your body knows itself, it also knows it voice. The spell won't react for anyone else."

"Well, that's a blessing at least. Keeps the crazies from finding out what I am."

"That is the general idea." Kagome said dryly.

"What language were you thinking in using?"

Harry grinned. He was getting used to this whole demon idea. "Something no one else can speak, let alone understand. Parseltongue."

"Parseltongue?"

"Snake language." Harry took a certain amount of pleasure in seeing the blank looks on the faces of the adults in the room. "It's a gift I got from the bastard who killed my parents."

Still the blank looks persisted. Harry sighed. It looked like he was going to have to put all his cards on the table. It was only fair after all; they had spilled their stories to him, he should return the favor.

"One of the reasons I took the whole demon world thing so well is because it happened to me before. Not the turning into a demon, but being told that there was a whole other world hiding from this one. You see, I'm a wizard." Harry explained. He ended up looking at the floor, waiting for the demands for an explanation. When nothing came, he looked up. Kagome was sitting with a satisfied look on her face, Inu-Yasha looked as if a puzzle had just been solved and Totosai just looked uninterested.

"This doesn't surprise you?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Well, no." Kagome answered. "I knew there was something off with your power signature. It felt so much like a priest's. And that scar of yours just reeks of evil power. So I did a little research, and found Harry Potter The Boy Who Lived. It did surprise me that you are so famous."

"When did you find this all out?"

"This morning. Last night when I removed the seal, I could really sense the taint of that scar and while I was breaking the seal, something in you was fighting me back. I looked through some books, and lo and behold…"

Inu-Yasha smirked in a satisfied sort of way. "From the first time I met you, you smelled of a power beyond that of the seal or a demon. It took me a while before I remembered where I had last smelled power like that. Us demons don't tend to hang out around wizards that much, they are the closest to finding out our secrets."

"The demon world knows of the wizarding world?" Harry asked in amazement. Yet another curve ball thrown his way.

"Of course. We have to. But they know nothing of us. If they did they would treat us the same way they treat werewolves and vampires and other magical creatures. So we keep to ourselves and deal with both worlds without them knowing about us."

"This should surprise me but for some reason it doesn't." Harry remarked.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha smiled. "Maybe you should take up Buddhism." Kagome suggested.

"Why?" Harry asked, confused.

"They have a belief in living for the moment, there is no future and no past."

"Sounds like they have rather short life expectancies." Harry replied thinking of where living in the moment would have gotten him.

"Exactly."

Inu-Yasha cleared his throat. "As much as this philosphical discussion is amusing, shouldn't we get back to the matter at hand? The longer Harry is without this spell the more chance of him being discovered. His guards have got to be suspicious about him always coming over here. I wouldn't put it past them to start spying on us."

Harry jumped at the thought and looked around the room in fear. "How do we know that they haven't already done that?"

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow-looking for a moment like his brother. "Use your ears and nose, tell me if you can sense anyone but us."

Harry closed his eyes and listened. There was Inu-Yasha's breathing, Kagome's, the scrape of Totosai's tools on the bone, the hum of the refrigerator, the buzz of the lights, a slight roar of traffic, the movement of air but nothing to suggest that there was anyone else near by. Next he concentrated on his nose again only the smells of the house permeated his nostrils.

"I can only smell this house, same for hearing." Harry answered.

"That's good. Kagome put a slight block on your ears and nose. Not enough to deaden them completely but enough to keep you from being overwhelmed. Most demons have to use blocks all the time- the smells and noises of this world are just too much. Once you get your spell put on, I'll start training you on how to deal with both."

Harry glanced over to Inu-Yasha in shock. He was going to be trained to deal with his new abilities? "But…"

"Don't say anything. Did you think that we would just leave you to muddle through everything on your own? It's our duty to help any new demon. Besides, I like you. I want to help you out."

Harry was taken aback by this generosity. If only there was someone like that for him in the wizarding world. He offered a shaky smile at Inu-Yasha, who seemed to know exactly what was going through his mind.

A sharp clap by Totosai, brought everyone back to the real world. Kagome let the soft smile fade from her face. Her mate really was a fluffy puppy under that gruff exterior.

"So first what you must decide is what your commands are going to be," Totosai restarted his explanation as if there had been no interruption. "The commands are your own, but I would recommend a conceal and reveal everything. Sometimes you get in a jam and to conceal everything then reveal what you need is quicker then going the other way."

Harry nodded at this logic. With his luck, he was going to be caught at the worst possible times with his ears exposed.

"Will wizards be able to tell that I have a spell up? There are some places that automatically remove concealment spells when you enter the building."

Totosai shook his head. "No one will be able to tell in anyway that you have any sort of spell on at all. Because we use your blood or your teeth, revealing spells skip right over them."

Harry filed this information away for further use. If that was possible, would it also mean that you could anchor a normal concealment spell to a tattoo or earring and the same would be true? He would have to investigate it at a later date, for now he pulled his brain back to the present.

"What I want concealed hmmm…" Harry stared off into space. "Well, first off there's these ears. If fur isn't unnatural then I don't know what is." Inu-Yasha cracked a smile. "But what else…" he nodded in thanks as Kagome handed him a pad of paper and a pen.

For several minutes, there was silence in the house as Harry constructed his list. When he was finished, he turned to Inu-Yasha and Totosai. "You've been doing this for a lot longer then I've lived, so do you have any suggestions?"

Inu-Yasha grabbed the list from Harry. "Eyes, ears, teeth, claws. Looks like you got the main ones. How about half hearing and smell?"

"Half?" Harry looked at Inu-Yasha questioningly.

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha replied noting down the additions, "There are times when you want to block all your smell-around dead bodies or in the middle of rush hour- or your hearing but there are also times when you want to just halve them. It comes in handy around a lot of people. Also have one for revealing just the concealment spell. It comes in handy around other demons who want to see the workmanship but you don't want to reveal everything. Are there any other markings that you have? Like a tail or something?"

Harry looked at Inu-Yasha in surprise. "A tail?"

"Yeah my brother has one, it really stands out so it gets concealed."

"That fluffy thing is a tail?" Kagome looked like a two year old just told that Santa doesn't exist.

"What did you think it was?" Inu-Yasha asked looking at her askance.

"I thought he was carrying around a fur boa." She mumbled in a small voice, still looking crushed.

"A fur boa? I know my brother is effeminate, but a boa?" Inu-Yasha looked as if he didn't know whether to start laughing or be outraged on his brother's behalf. Laughter won. After several minutes of rolling around on the floor laughing his ass off, he managed to control himself. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he turned back to Harry. "You really should check to see if you have any markings or odd patches of fur in other places. It could really lead to a rather embarrassing situation." Here Inu-Yasha raised both eyebrows and leered suggestively. Kagome hit him over the head.

Harry blushed as Inu-Yasha's innuendo sank in. Mumbling something in reply he left the living room and made his way to the bathroom. Several minutes later a shriek broke the light conversation of the demons and the priestess. Fearing Harry indeed had grown a tail, Inu-Yasha and Kagome sprinted down the hallway to the bathroom, Totosai sat undisturbed on the sofa, carefully carving his spells into the bit of earring.

Coming to a sudden stop in front of the bathroom -Inu-Yasha's nails scrapping on the wooden floors- Kagome cautiously opened the door. Harry was standing in front of the mirror with no shirt on. His green eyes were wide and looked suspiciuosly like he was about to start crying.

"Harry?" Kagome ventured in a soft voice.

He turned to face them; it really did look like he was about to cry. "I have fur." He wailed in a despairing voice.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha exchanged bewildered looks. He had taken all this so well, and now having fur was setting him off?

Kagome put a gentle hand on his shoulder and slowly turned him around. Indeed Harry Potter had fur. Black fur. Black fur that ran down his spinal cord along his back and disappeared below his pants. Like the fur on his ears it was short, black and silky smooth.

Inu-Yasha struggled to turn his laugh into a cough. All this over a bit of fur. Calming Harry down took a long time. Every time he seemed to be okay, something else would send him off into hysterics. He cried, yowled, and even shed a few tears. Kagome sat and patted his back the entire time. She had muttered something about the shock wearing off and had sent Inu-Yasha to make some warm milk.

Upon the appearance of the dairy product, Harry calmed down instantly and went back to making his list of spell components like nothing had happened. Inu-Yasha sent Kagome a baffled look. She just smiled and lead the way back to the living room where Totosai was still carving away, completely oblivious.

Sitting down next to the smith, Harry watched for a minute the delicate carvings that the demon was putting into the bit of tooth.

"Which would you recommend?" His question brought Totosai out of his trance. For a minute he looked around confused.

"What's this? Who are all of you?" He kept looking from Inu-Yasha to Harry to Kagome and back.

Kagome sighed deeply. Harry didn't know what to think. Inu-Yasha threw a shoe at the smith's head. It connected. Totosai blinked.

"Oh right. Ummm. What was the question again?"

Harry felt his head have a sudden attraction to the floor. Raising it back up and glaring at the old demon, he repeated his question.

"Which ever you prefer." And Totosai went back to his carving.

Harry glanced helplessly over at Kagome and Inu-Yasha. Kagome shrugged.

"He does that all the time. Ignore it."

"But I don't know which one to get. I'm going to need it soon because the Order is going to come and check up on me and Moody has this eye that can see through anything. I'm afraid that he'll see through this as well."

"Moody? Alaster Moody? Old beat up man with a magic eye?" Inu-Yasha looked interested.

"Yeah that's the one."

"He won't see anything."

"How do you know?" Inu-Yasha sounded so sure but Harry still had his doubts.

"That eye is a demon part, although he doesn't know it. It can see through human magic just fine but has no effect on demon magic." Inu-Yasha explained in a completely confident voice.

"How do you know that?" Harry was still unsure.

"Because Sesshoumaru was the one who sold the eye to the person who sold the eye to Moody. I was there where he picked it up. I was also there when he got it placed in his eye. We like to know that the parts we provide are going to the people they say they are going to."

"Oh. So I don't have to worry about that, but I still don't know…"

"If you want my advice," Kagome spoke up. Harry looked at her pleadingly. "You should get the tattoo. Of the two it will be the strongest. Because it's in your blood," she continued, "There's always the chance that you take out the earring for some reason or another, but you can never get the tattoo off. If someone chops off your ear the concealment spell goes too, but if the spell is on your back they can't remove it."

Harry was slightly unsettled by the thought of someone casually chopping another person's ear off but agreed with Kagome's logic. Especially with the freaks chasing him he needed all the safe guards he could get. He nodded in agreement.

Totosai immediately clued into the conversation. "Alright then. We can get started. The first thing we need to do is choose a place for the tattoo."

Harry thought for a moment. "Shoulder blade. Someone will have to take my back off to get the tattoo off that way."

Nodding in agreement, Totosai riffled through his bag. Pulling out a bottle of some liquid, a small paintbrush, a stick of ink, a small saucer and what seemed to be a knife of some sort, he motioned to Kagome.

Kagome went into the kitchen and came back with a washcloth and a large piece of rice paper.

Totosai explained the process of the tattoo making as he ground some of the ink into the saucer. "What we are going to do is design your tattoo first. The ink I'm using will allow me to paint in the commands as you say them. Because they are in a different language, I won't understand but the ink will. What you say will appear on your shoulder. So come up with the words that you want to say. Make them more then just 'conceal all, conceal eyes' put some twist like 'pink conceal eyes' so that you don't accidentally say something if you happen to start ranting in your chosen language."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Totosai's choice of example but he understood what the smith wanted. Taking the pad of paper from before he started organizing the items in the order he wanted and settled on his command.

By the time he had finished arranging everything to his liking, Totosai was finished with the ink. "Right," the smith said, "now practice saying those words in that order several times. Get comfortable saying it and then we'll start on the tattoo."

Harry nodded. Closing his eyes, he drew into his mind the image of a snake. Opening his eyes, but keeping the image, he ran through the list several times. A sudden thought struck him and he looked up from the paper. Kagome was helping Totosai with drawing a complex array on the paper with the ink, while Inu-Yasha looked on.

"Did that sound alright?" he asked remembering all the times when he thought he was speaking English but was instead speaking Parseltongue.

Inu-Yasha looked up. "What? That hissing? If that was what you were going for then you got it. If you were trying for something else, keep working."

Harry grinned. This part, at least, was going to be easy. As long as he kept that image of snake in his mind, he would be able to speak it with no problem. Confident in his ability, he was content to watch Kagome and Totosai work on the design that was turning out to be as large as Inu-Yasha's hand. Finished they turned to Harry.

"Right." Totosai was suddenly all business. "Take off your shirt and lie down on your stomach." Harry complied, feeling the gurgles of nervous anticipation start to stir in his gut.

Kagome and Totosai wiped down his shoulder with the liquid from the bottle and spread the paper over the still wet flesh. The rice paper stuck like a second skin.

"Now we are going to need some of your blood." Totosai explained as he pulled out the knife like blade. It looked like a cross between a knife and a straw. "Just hold out one arm."

Harry unconsciously held out the one that Peter had taken blood from, the arm that the basilisk fang had stabbed, the one that Lockheart had removed the bones from. 'Poor arm,' he thought to himself. 'Everything seems to happen to it.'

Totosai arranged the limb so that the forearm was facing up by Harry's side. "I'm going to cut you now. Then I am going to spread the blood over the paper. When the blood and ink mix together they are going to start burning through the paper onto your skin. When that happens start saying your commands. When you get finished, stop. The burning will continue for a bit after that, try not to pass out."

'Oh great,' Harry thought to himself, 'Just what I need more pain, but whatever. I asked for this.'

Taking Harry's nod for a signal to begin, Totosai slit a neat cut all the way up Harry's forearm. As he used the saucer to catch the blood, Kagome spread the rest of the cut with a poltice to keep the wound from bleeding anymore. Lying on his stomach, Harry could only listen as Totosai chanted something and then started to brush the blood on to the rice paper.

The burning started immediately. Ignoring his impulse to gasp, Harry pulled the image of the snake into his mind and started reciting his commands for concealing and revealing his demon form. It took several minutes before he was finished. The pain of the tattoo burning into his back was distracting but no where as bad as some of the curses Voldemort threw at his followers and Harry had the privilege of catching second hand. As Totosai had explained, the burning did continue for a while after he had finished speaking.

As the pain faded, Harry could feel a slight tingling on his left shoulder blade as the tattoo settled into his skin. Kagome's sigh was echoed by Inu-Yasha.

"I knew there was a reason I didn't want the tattoo."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the dog-demon from his place on the floor.

Inu-Yasha gave a twisted smile. "You have no idea how creepy it was to watch that tattoo burn itself into your back as you sat there hissing at it. I'm going to stick with my earring for a while longer I think."

Kagome seemed to agree if her shaking hands were any indication. Shaking hands or no, she still cleaned up all the blood from Harry's shoulder and arm where he now had a long silver scar running it's length.

Only Totosai seemed unaffected by the site he had just witnessed. "That went extremely well." He commented. "Most times I have to stop spreading the blood as the demon screams."

'Oh that's comforting,' Harry grumbled to himself, 'I'm glad he told me that after the damn thing was finished.'

"This is going to be red and sore for sometime." Kagome stated as she moved to the kitchen and returned with a bundle of herbs and a jar of something. The something turned out to be a cool jelly that felt blissful on Harry's hot skin. Taking a clean strip of cloth, Kagome crumbled some herbs over the jelly and put the bandage over the top. Another piece of cloth and the tattoo was covered.

"The tattoo will have to sit for an hour before you can activate it. For the first time you have to go through all the commands, it just makes sure that everything is working." Totosai explained as Inu-Yasha helped Harry onto the sofa where he sat with his shoulder propped away from the back. "I must admit youngling," he continued looking deep into Harry's eyes, "I did not expect you to take the pain so well. I fully expected you to pass out. Even for a demon having a tattoo burned into them is not something to taken lightly. You hold many surprises."

Staring into the old smith's eyes, Harry was once again reminded of Ollivander. Gone was the forgetful rather senile demon and in his place was a great and powerful smith who had served some of the greatest demons of all time. Harry was struck with an odd sense of being young and weak. It lasted only a moment before the foolish mask returned to the smith's face.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, there was the smell of food invading his nose. A growl from his stomach reminded Harry that breakfast had been a long time ago and he had burned a lot of energy what with his haywire emotions, nervousness, and blood letting. Not to mention getting that tattoo burned into his shoulder. Speaking of the tattoo, Harry's sudden movement sent a jolt of pain through his arm.

'I guess moving is out of the question,' Harry thought as he gripped his arm and clenched his jaw.

Peeling his eyes slowly open, Harry looked around the living room and found it empty. There was no sign that a complex concealment ceremony had just taken place. Sounds from the kitchen indicated the whereabouts of Inu-Yasha and Kagome, but Totosai was no where to be seen or heard.

We like reviews yes we do yes we do yes we do. It makes us poor insecure writers feel loved.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: The last part of what I call Part One. For this is the end of Harry's summer. Unless you people want me to put more of it in. I can do that. Just tell me. After this chapter he goes back to Hoggy Worty Hogworts. And has fun. Because he's a cat and cats always have fun. A huge thank you to my cousin Emily who edited this thing and put in all the commas I forgot. Yay Emily!

Inu-Yasha must have heard Harry's movement because he stuck his head out of the kitchen. Seeing Harry awake, he grinned and disappeared back into the kitchen. Several minutes later, which Harry had used to get his brain back together, Inu-Yasha and Kagome appeared from the kitchen. Kagome was holding a large tray full of food and Inu-Yasha's arms were full of packages.

"Happy Sixteenth Birthday Harry!" Kagome smiled as she set the tray down on the coffee table.

Harry was shocked. He belatedly remembered that today was indeed his birthday. Today, he was sixteen. The excitement of discovering his demon heritage had driven any thought of the day out of his mind. Looking up into Kagome's smiling face and the smirk on Inu-Yasha's, he felt a warm buzz in his chest.

"I..I.. thank you." Harry managed to get out, his brain several steps behind his mouth. "I don't know what to say…"

"Then say nothing." Inu-Yasha suggested as he set down his load next to the tray of food. "We know you won't get anything from those relative's of yours and we can't take you out until that tattoo finishes setting so we arranged a birthday celebration here." He pointed to the food and the presents.

"Are all those from you?" Harry asked in amazement. He knew Inu-Yasha and Kagome were friends but to buy so many gifts….

"Nah." Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Most of these are from those owls that seemed intent on visiting you last night. I thought you needed the rest so I took the liberty of relieving the birds of their packages. Some of them were not happy with me let me tell you. Especially that white one. She seemed quite intent on taking my eye out."

"Hedwig?" Harry asked. A sudden lurch in his stomach came from the realization that he hadn't seen his feathered friend for several days. He had completely forgotten that his friends would be sending presents to him. He only hoped that none of them were worried when the birds returned with no message.

"Is that her name? Well, I had to bring her back here in order to get the package from her. Kagome was able to calm her down but I don't think she likes me much. She flew off in a huff when we were finished."

"I hope she's alright." Harry muttered, worry for his friend clouding his eyes.

Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's fine. She just had to fly off to sooth her ruffled feathers. She'll be back probably this evening. So how about we start this celebration?" A bright smile lit Kagome's face. A smile like hers was infectious and Harry shrugged off his worry.

Laughter and talk filled the house as Inu-Yasha and Kagome filled Harry in on some of the more entertaining incidents of their quest to find the Jewel of Four Souls. Harry in turn told them about his life at Hogworts, at least the happy parts. The food was quickly gone. Once again Kagome had cooked a traditional Japanese meal and Harry loved all of it, especially the fish.

Putting aside the empty plates, Inu-Yasha picked up one of the presents and handed it to Harry with a mock bow. Harry grinned and nodded his head back as he received the gift.

"This first one is from Kagome. I have no idea what it is so…" Inu-Yasha shrugged his shoulders as if to apologize and had to duck a blow from Kagome's pillow.

Harry grinned as he tore off the paper-these claws are good for something. Inside was a book. But not just any book it was an author's edition of _Search for Four Souls_ by one Kagome Higarashi. Opening the front cover carefully, Harry read the inscription, _To Harry: A reminder that no matter how shity things are looking, you can always make money off them. Good luck to you in all that you do, your friend, Kagome Higarashi_. Harry looked up at Kagome with wide eyes. She smiled back at him softly and gave him a hug.

"It's straight off the press, one of the first printed in England. And it's unedited. Nothing is changed. That's exactly as it happened. None of the other books are as complete."

Harry just stared at Kagome. And stared and stared. She shifted in her seat starting to get uncomfortable with Harry's unblinking look. He finally managed to pull himself together and shook his head.

"This is…well this is…wow…" he managed to get out.

"What's the matter, kitty? Cat got your tongue?" Inu-Yasha quipped.

Harry jerked his head around and shot the dog a piercing glare. Inu-Yasha just shrugged it off with at grin and handed Harry the next package.

Going through the pile of presents took longer then Harry expected. Besides his friends and the Weasley's, some of the DA members had sent him things. He ended up with several books, several nick-knacks and some other stuff. Books from Hermione and Remus, candy from Ron, a pendent from Ginny, food from Mrs. Weasley. The normal gifts. When he was all finished, Inu-Yasha smiled slightly.

"Now don't tell anyone. This is a bit unorthodox. But you are in a lot of danger and you need all the help you can get."

Harry looked up from Hermione's book excited.

Inu-Yasha pulled a long, thin package from where it was hidden behind the chair.

"Inu-Yasha! You didn't!" Kagome sounded faintly scolding but at the same time resigned to whatever her mate had done.

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Just don't tell Sesshoumaru. He'll kill me."

Harry took the present carefully. It was obviously important if Inu-Yasha gave a warning with it. The rice paper wrappings were easily shredded and Harry gave the item an odd look.

"A sword?"

"Actually a wakazashi. It's shorter then a katana and will be easier for you to hide."

"Why does it feel like you?"

Inu-Yasha looked away a mumbled something. Kagome gave him a warm look.

"It feels like him because it's from one of his teeth."

"You mean like Tetsuaiga?"

"Exactly." Kagome smiled at the two demons.

Inu-Yasha continued to shuffle uncomfortable. "I don't want you to make too much of this." He finally burst out. "It's just you are always in danger and you need something that you can use in case you can't release your demon form."

Harry shook his head at the generosity of his new friends. He gave Inu-Yasha a huge smile and a heartfelt thank you but didn't press it too hard. He could tell the dog-demon was really uncomfortable.

Instead, he turned back to the books and chatted about school with Kagome until Inu-Yasha got himself back under control. Harry was flipping through Kagome's book as the priestess looked through the defense book Remus had sent him, when he heard a car turn into the driveway. He put the book aside as the car stopped. He hadn't known Kagome and Inu-Yasha were expecting company. A slight pull on the demonic part of his mind was starting to bother him all of a sudden. There was something off about this car.

The hair on the back of Harry's neck stood straight up as the car door slammed. All his newly awakened demon instincts were screaming at him to run. Run far and fast. Run, keep running and don't ever look back. If he started running now, went quietly out the back door and started running immediately, he just might have a chance. He didn't even realize he was on his feet and inching slowly towards the kitchen, until Kagome gave him a sharp look.

"Harry! What's wrong?"

Too loud, her voice was too loud. It was going to alert him that someone was here. Harry needed to get out and he needed to get out fast. No! Bad! Kagome was walking over towards him with a concerned look on her face. He didn't need concern, he needed to leave, to get away from the monster that was coming up the walkway.

"Harry," she continued in a calming voice. "Please calm down. Here, have a seat. I'll go get you some milk and you just relax…"

For a moment the mention of milk diverted Harry's focused attention. But the overwhelming presence of an ancient and powerful demon soon reflooded his mind with panic.

It was getting closer. There was no running now, there was no time left. All Harry could hope for was a chance to run when the demon was occupied with Inu-Yasha and Kagome. Maybe a spell would slow him down. Harry's mind raced as he went through all the spells he could think of. His right hand groped for a wand that was not there as his mind descended into a fight or flight mode.

The door bell rang. Too late.

Inu-Yasha moved out of the kitchen and gave Harry's crouched form an odd look but went to open the door.

'No!' Harry's mind screamed. 'Don't do that! Don't open the door! You'll let him in!'

The handle turned. The door started to open. The smell of the demon swept into the house. The door opened wider. Inu-Yasha was saying something, WELCOMING the demon into the house!

Kagome shot Harry a worried look as he let out a wordless snarl as the demon stepped into the house.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inu-Yasha was on the floor laughing. It had been over twenty minutes. Kagome had finally noticed something was really wrong when she noticed Harry was crouched, ready to attack the newcomer. She had looked from Harry-who's face was determined but who's eyes were scared shitless- to the guest-who was watching the new cat demon with a cold arrogant look on his face. Inu-Yasha was standing behind the other man gazing around the living room confusedly.

A light seemed to go on above her head. She opened and closed her mouth several times before she managed to organize her thoughts into a coherent statement.

"Harry, you can calm down. He is not going to attack you. This is Sesshoumaru. Remember we told you about him? He's Inu-Yasha's older brother. He won't hurt you, we won't let him." As Kagome squatted down next to Harry and attempted to calm the high strung cat, she waved behind her at Inu-Yasha. He seemed to get the message and disappeared into the kitchen. The milk he returned with, combined with Kagome's low soft voice and reassuring aura, slowly brought Harry's human mind back into control.

When he realized what he had been doing, he blushed a bright neon red. Taking his glass of milk and curling up in one of the chairs, he made no attempt to explain himself. He just kept his eyes firmly glued to Sesshoumaru's powerful form.

Twenty minutes later now and Harry was coming out of the adrenaline daze. Setting the empty glass aside, glaring at Inu-Yasha who thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious, Harry turned to Sesshoumaru.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't believe we've met. I'm Harry Potter."

Sesshoumaru raised one perfect silver eyebrow-Harry was reminded of Lucius Malfoy.

"Indeed." His voice was low and unemotionless.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't kill you to be more polite Sesshoumaru. The poor boy has never felt another demon besides Inu-Yasha and Totosai. Neither of them exactly ooze power like you do."

Inu-Yasha looked up insulted. "Hey!"

"Especially when you are attempting to impress someone." She continued over the top of her mate.

"You did not tell me the new demon was one of the cat aristocracy." His Royal Iciness graced Kagome with a cold look.

Harry had gotten over his shock of being in the presence of such a powerful demon and the same reckless abandon that came over him when ever he faced off against Voldemort rose up within him. "The new demon has a name and would appreciate it if you used it." He said, copying, the best he could, the older demon's icy tone.

Sesshoumaru turned his glare onto Harry next. The full impact of his power hit Harry full on. But he had stood up against one of the most powerful wizards of the world and not backed down. Now that his human mind was in control, Harry glared right back. A small part of his brain, the part Harry now labeled as 'Random Bits of Inherited Demon Knowledge,' noted that Sesshoumaru could not kill him while in the house of his brother. Harry took strength from this but blocked out the idea of what would happen if he ever met Sesshoumaru outside Inu-Yasha's home.

"Alright, stop it you two." Kagome's voice broke the tension. The eternal peacemaker, Kagome was not afraid of using her priestess powers to break up fights between demons. "Sesshoumaru, we didn't know Harry was part of that family until Totosai mentioned it today. We just found out he was a cat demon last night. We've been more focused on getting him his concealment tattoo and celebrating his birthday then investigating his lineage."

"I also note that you did not tell me that he is a wizard." Sesshoumaru went on as if Kagome had not spoken.

"I figured that it was his secret to tell. He just told us this afternoon. We haven't really had a chance to call you and he just woke up from getting the tattoo a little while ago." Kagome's voice was flat and deceptively calm. She hated when the Demon of the Western Lands treated her like she was just a human woman. She was the Priestess of the Shikon no Tama and he would treat her as such.

Sesshoumaru, luckily for him, was well skilled in the art of reading voice and body language. He recognized that he had angered the powerful priestess. Without apologizing, he nodded and backed his aura down.

Harry stared from one to the other. Inu-Yasha had surreptitiously moved to stand behind his mate. As a human, Harry had felt Kagome's power. Now as a demon, he realized exactly what that power was. To a demon, Kagome was worse then a poison. She could purify them out of hand. Even a powerful demon like Sesshoumaru would be injured if he went up against her.

"Well what can you tell me about this new demon,"

"Harry."

Another eyebrow raise.

"My name is Harry."

Kagome interrupted before another staring match could ensue. "He's a cat demon. Totosai said he came from the line of cat demons that we dealt with before. His great times ten grandfather was the youngest of the siblings. The one that kept to himself. He fell in love with a human, came to me, had his powers sealed away, and moved to England. The power comes from his mother's side of the family. His aunt has the taint of demon power but no sustenance. His cousin has even less. The power appeared to be passed in a compact bundle from one generation to the next. Therefore, the power is mostly intact. Harry is in essence a full demon."

Harry listened to the explanation of how he got his powers with interest. Knowing where they came from would help in learning how to deal with them. He really didn't want to go into a panic attack every time he met with a powerful demon. He hoped meeting humans with great power would not elicit the same reaction.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru was looking at Harry in an entirely new light. "Boy, Harry. You understand what all that means?"

Harry nodded, not trusting his voice to give a polite reply. This demon was sounding too much like Snape for his comfort.

"And you understand that you can tell no non-demon, bar the one you mate to, what you are or that there are others like you?"

Harry nodded gravely. He had done some thinking last night. He realized that Dumbledore would use his demon blood to attempt to gather allies for the war. He also realized that the wizarding world, as prejudiced as they were, would never accept him. If they hated werewolves who had no control over their change, how would they react to him, who had animal characteristics all the time?

"Wait, I can't tell _anyone_?" What about Ron? What about Hermione? Ginny? Remus?

"Correct. If you have trouble lying to your friends, I suggest you start to practice. If you insist on telling people, you will be terminated. The demon world has only survived as long as it has by remaining in complete secrecy. Anyone who threatens our safety is removed." Sesshoumaru's voice was matter-of-fact. There was no room for compromise on this point. The demon world came first.

Inu-Yasha gave a grave nod. "Humans both wizard and Muggle alike would only use our power. They would use us as weapons, holding our families hostage as insurance of our good behaivor. We would be experimented on, sold, bound into slavery and then killed. It is best to keep our existence secret. If you find a mate, then you are permitted to tell him or her…"

"Him or her?" Harry repeated, making sure he had heard correctly.

Inu-Yasha nodded. "Well yeah, your demon side will recognize those people with power and present them as possible mates. As a wizard and a demon, reproducing isn't high on your list of things to do. Besides if you do wish to have children there are ways around that. Just don't be surprised if you are suddenly attracted to men."

Harry had the sudden urge to go hide in a closet somewhere and never come out. The list of screw ups in his life was getting longer and longer. It was no longer safe to walk around outside. The next time he showed his face, someone would be telling him he was next in line for the throne of England.

"Boy," Sesshoumaru's voice pulled Harry back to the present. "You are the next in line for a very old family of demons."

'Too late,' Harry thought dispiritedly.

"They are not as old as the Inu-youkai but are close. All the direct lines of heirs have died off, you are the only one left. Do not be surprised if cat demons start coming to challenge you. Let it be known that you are under the protection of the Inu-Taishou family. If anyone wishes to contest your claim, they will have to deal with me."

After giving this rather ground-breaking announcement, Sesshoumaru departed, leaving a nearly broken Harry, a surprised Kagome and a wondering-what-the-hell-his-brother-was-on Inu-Yasha.

"Well, that was different." Kagome stated.

"Different!" Harry nearly yelled his voice breaking with stress. "Not only do I find out that I'm a demon but also that I'm the last heir to a powerful family and I should expect demons to come and attack me out of the blue? How the fuck was that _different_? Fucking insane is what I'd call it! Fucking absurd! Off his fucking rocker that one is!"

Harry continued to rant like this for some time while Inu-Yasha and Kagome just listened. Finally he ran out of steam and sat fuming, occasionally mumbling a word or two to himself.

"Harry?" Harry turned a death glare at Inu-Yasha. "I really wouldn't worry about that too much. You're much too young to take over a family and if you don't want it you don't have to take it. The demons taking care of the family have done so for years. And I really don't think that there will be challengers for some time. They are going to watch and see how you react to all this before they move. They may not even see you as a threat because you were once human."

What Inu-Yasha failed to mention was that the neko-youkai might see Harry as an even greater threat because of his humanity and wizard blood. He didn't want to set the new demon off again however, and suggested that the two of them start training Harry's new senses. Harry, ready for a distraction, happily complied.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the next month, Harry spent all of his waking hours with Inu-Yasha and Kagome. They were both extremely reluctant to allow Harry out into the wide world without a rock solid understanding of both what it was to be a demon and demon etiquette. Sesshoumaru's visit and the mention of being the last straight-line heir to a long forgotten demon family motivated Inu-Yasha to call up Myouga to tutor Harry in the intricacies of demon politics and history.

"So let me get this straight. Fighting within a family is permitted, but fighting with members of another family is strictly forbidden, even if they start it."

"Correct." Myouga's small voice sounded so pleased with his pupil.

"And if I insult a demon or their family, even inadvertently, then they can call me out for a duel. And this is permitted?"

"Exactly. You are really understanding this."

"My brain hurts."

Inu-Yasha focused on helping Harry come to grips with his demon senses, smell alone took him a week to master. The idea that you could tell someone's mood by their scent was mind boggling, but being able to tell whether they lied or spoke the truth was a talent Harry was glad to have.

"So what am I feeling now?"

"Hungry?"

"I didn't ask how you were feeling, I said me."

"Annoyed?"

"Are you just guessing?"

"….maybe."

Inu-Yasha also taught Harry how to use his claws and make use of his increased strength and agility. As a cat demon, Harry was faster and more agile then Inu-Yasha although he could not beat him for brute strength.

"Ha! Take that old man!"

Whack!

"Ouch.."

"Just because you avoided one attack, don't think that you've avoided all the attacks."

"Says the demon who still can't beat his brother."

"Hey!"

As Harry became more and more comfortable with his new abilities he found himself acting in a manner that could only be called cat-like. He was starting to fall asleep in random places and at random times; he would curl up in the sun and doze for hours. Fish had a whole new meaning. Writing a meaningless letter to his friends, Harry also realized that he was holding secrets much closer to his heart. No bad thing when your Headmaster is an artful manipulator and is looking for any and all allies to end the growing war.

"Harry. Harry. You need to wake up. You've been sleeping for seven hours. I have fish…"

"Fish?"

"Well, that woke him up."

"Ha. Ha. Now get him off my arm."

Hearing Sesshoumaru warn of the dangers of being discovered by the wizarding world, Harry hoped that Sirius' death would be enough of an excuse for his friends about his odd behavior. Because it was going to be odd. Keeping his mouth closed about any mention of the demon world was going to prove difficult. So many little things had crept into his life and so many little quirks were now becoming habits.

"That's not good enough. Any fool could read your emotions all over your face. Try again and this time keep your feelings hidden."

"Yes, master." The sarcasm was lost on the Ice Prince of Dog Demons. Or maybe he just ignored it.

"Remember that lying is an art. You have to keep the fiction close enough to the truth that you don't confuse yourself and get the lies mixed up. You must also learn to believe what ever you are saying. If you look uncomfortable, then you will give yourself away. Only you can remember what you look like when you are telling the truth. But be consistent. If you used to always look down, don't suddenly start looking people in the eyes. If you fidgeted, then you must continue to fidget."

"How do you keep this all straight?"

"If you wish to keep your life, then I would recommend learning what I am teaching you."

One of the most notable advantages was his memory. When Kagome had mentioned off hand that a demon's memory is nothing like a human's, Harry hadn't known what to think. Now he was amazed. Rereading a text from first year, two weeks later Harry could still remember the entire contents. However, that was on a subject he enjoyed. While Inu-Yasha drilled Harry physically, Kagome pounded his mind into shape. Having seen Harry's O.W.L. results and the guarantee by McGonagall to get him into N.E.W.T. potions, Kagome took it as her personal mission to see that Harry knew every herb, animal part, and mineral ever used in brewing. Not only did she insist on him learning them in English, she drilled him on the Japanese names and traditional uses as well. Not to mention how they reacted with specific demons and what herbs were best against what demonic poisons. For a priestess that was late in learning the art of healing, Kagome was now a fanatic. She would teach anyone who would listen and bore those who could care less. Having a captive audience (Harry could see the logic in the practice, not only was he earning his place in the Advanced Potions class, he was also gaining a way to piss Snape off beyond all others) caused her to go a bit over the top.

"Now what does wormwood mixed with absinthe do?"

"Besides getting you drunk?"

"Harry. Focus."

"Right. Wormwood and absinthe… It'll blow up."

"Exactly! Like a molotov cocktail!"

"You are entirely too happy with that."

Before Harry knew it, the end of August was rolling up. He had asked Remus to pick up his supplies in Diagon Ally- he had not wanted to lose a day of training or face the wizarding world again so soon. His trunk was packed, his clothes clean, and Harry was spending the last night with Kagome and Inu-Yasha. Uncle Vernon had completely ignored Harry's absence from the house after Inu-Yasha asked for Harry to attend dinner, and Harry didn't want to push his luck by asking for a ride to the station. Luckily, Kagome had to go meet with her editor and they were more then happy to give Harry a lift.

Harry was sitting in the guest room when Hedwig flew in from her nightly hunt. Harry's first friend and faithful companion didn't at first know how to react to Harry's new self. All her instincts screamed at her to fly away from this large powerful cat. All of her brain screamed just as loudly that Harry was her friend, cat like smell or not. Her solution to this mental fight was to sulk for several days before deciding that cat or not, Harry hadn't eaten her yet. Any sudden movement on his part still sent her into a fluster of ruffled feathers and mantled wings, but she was getting more and more comfortable in his presence. Something in his smell must have reassured her that evening, for once she deposited her nightly hunt in her cage, she glided over and took up residence on his shoulder.

Harry careful not to disturb her with a fast motion, slowly raised a hand and started stroking her breast feathers. She, in turn, took it upon herself to preen his eternally messy hair.

"Well, Hedwig. Another summer gone. I just hope this year doesn't hold so many surprises. I'm getting sick of new plots every year. You would think the fates would be willing to give me a break."

Alas, poor Harry. The God of Mischief had taken great pleasure in tangling the fate lines of one Harry Potter. And although the first snags were past there was still a mangled mess of screwed up life to get through before he had any sort of peace and quiet.

AN: And now he goes back to school. Just a few things to look forward to in the coming school year: cat-nip, staring contests, Harry's reactions to potions ingredients, freaking out the Slytherins and much much more!


End file.
